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Tuesday, 20 March 2018

Ben Carson points the finger at his wife over $31G dining set

Carson told the committee he "dismissed" himself from the process and left Candy Carson in charge of choosing the furniture.(ALEX WONG/GETTY IMAGES)

Housing Secretary Ben Carson pointed the finger at his wife and cited safety needs for the eye-watering cost of a $31,000 dining set for his office.

Facing the House Appropriations subcommittee on Tuesday, Carson claimed he “dismissed” himself from the furniture selection process and left his wife, Candy Carson, in charge.

But emails released by an accountability organization last week suggest that Carson and his wife both played a role in selecting the furniture.

Carson also said the old dining set posed a safety hazard, and that the decision to purchase a new one was a “facilities” issue rather than a decorating concern.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson takes his seat before testifying before a House Committee on Appropriation subcommittee on Tuesday.

“It’s my understanding that the facilities people felt that the dining room table was actually dangerous. People are being stuck by nails, a chair collapsed with somebody sitting in it, it’s 50 years old,” he said.

And so Carson and his wife looked at furniture catalogues together even though "the prices were beyond what I wanted to pay," he said. “I made it clear that didn’t seem right to me.”

Carson told the committee he "dismissed" himself from the process because he had more important things to do and left Candy Carson in charge of choosing the furniture.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson looks over his notes as he waits to testify after his office ordered a $31,000 dining set.

The news of the purchase broke in February, and Carson said he was shocked when he found out about the $31,000 price tag.

"I said, 'What the heck is that all about?'" he said. "I investigated and immediately had it canceled. Not that we don't need the furniture but I thought that was excessive."

On his wife's role, Carson said "a style and a color was selected by her with the caveat that we were not happy with the pricing and they needed to find something. If anybody knew my wife they would realize how ridiculous this was, she's the most frugal person in the world."

Carson also told the panel that if it were up to him, "my office would probably look like a hospital waiting room."